Prolactin
A hormone secreted by the pituitary gland that stimulates lactation (milk production). It also has many other functions, including essential roles in the maintenance of the immune system. Abnormally high prolactin can delay puberty, interfere with ovulation in women, decrease libido in men, and decrease fertility. Elevated prolactin (hyperprolactinemia) may be due to a benign tumor in the pituitary gland called a prolactinoma.
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- Proliferative
Growing and increasing in number rapidly. For example, the lymphoproliferative disorders are diseases in which there is malignant growth of lymphoid cells and of cells from the reticuloendothelial system (which take up and sequester inert particles). As another example, the myeloproliferative disorders are malignancies of certain bone marrow cells including those that give rise to […]
- Prominent vertebra
The seventh cervical (neck) vertebra, which has a long spinous process that projects out from the back of its vertebral body.
- Prominentia laryngea
The prominence of the larynx, more commonly known as the Adam’s apple. This familiar feature in front of the neck is due to forward protrusion of the largest cartilage of the larynx. It takes its name from the story that a piece of the forbidden fruit stuck in Adam’s throat. The prominent cartilage is the […]
- Promoter
In molecular biology, a site on DNA to which the enzyme RNA polymerase can bind to initiate the transcription of DNA into RNA.
- Pronation
Rotation of the forearm and hand so that the palm is down (and the corresponding movement of the foot and leg with the sole down), as opposed to supination. For a more complete listing of terms used in medicine for spatial orientation, please see the entry to “Anatomic Orientation Terms”.